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First Quarter 2025 IRS Interest Rates on Overpayment & Underpayment of Tax

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On November 18, 2024, the IRS announced that the First Quarter 2025 IRS interest rates on overpayment and underpayment of tax will decrease from the Fourth Quarter of 2024.

This means that the First Quarter 2025 IRS interest rates will be as follows:

seven (7) percent for overpayments (six (6) percent in the case of a corporation);

seven (7) percent for underpayments;

nine (9) percent for large corporate underpayments; and

five (5) percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000.

Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) §6621 establishes the IRS interest rates on overpayments and underpayments of tax. Under §6621(a)(1), the overpayment rate is the sum of the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points for individuals and 2 percentage points in cases of a corporation. There is an exception to this rule: with respect to a corporate overpayment of tax exceeding $10,000 for a taxable period of time, the rate is the sum of the federal short-term rate plus one-half of a percentage point.

Under §6621(a)(2), the underpayment rate is the sum of the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points. Again, there is an exception for a large corporate underpayment: in such cases, §6621(c) requires the underpayment rate to be the sum of the relevant federal short-term rate plus 5 percentage points. The readers should see §6621(c) and §301.6621-3 of the Regulations on Procedure and Administration for the definition of a large corporate underpayment and for the rules for determining the applicable date.

Importance of the First Quarter 2025 IRS Interest Rates

It is important to note that the First Quarter 2025 IRS interest rates are relevant for a great variety of purposes. Let’s highlight three of its most important uses.

First, these rates will determine the interest a taxpayer will get on any IRS refunds. This is also relevant in situations where a taxpayers files amended tax returns, including as part of their offshore volutnary disclosure package.

Second ,the rates will also be used to establish the interest to be added to any additional US tax liability on amended or audited tax returns. This also applies to the tax returns that were amended pursuant to Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures, Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures and any other offshore voluntary disclosure option.

Finally, the First Quarter 2025 IRS interest rates will be used to calculate PFIC interest on any relevant IRC §1291 PFIC tax. This PFIC interest will be reported on the relevant Form 8621 and ultimately Form 1040.

We at Sherayzen Law Office constantly deal with the IRS interest rates on overpayments and underpayments of tax. This is why we closely follow any changes in these IRS interest rates, including the First Quarter 2025 IRS interest rates.

First Quarter 2018 IRS Underpayment Interest Rates | Tax Lawyer MN

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On December 5, 2017, the IRS announced that the First Quarter 2018 IRS underpayment interest rates and overpayment interest rates will remain the same as they were in the last quarter of 2017. This means that, the First Quarter 2018 IRS underpayment interest rates and overpayment interest rates will be as follows: On December 5, 2017, the IRS announced that the First Quarter 2018 IRS underpayment interest rates and overpayment interest rates will remain the same as they were in the last quarter of 2017. This means that, the First Quarter 2018 IRS underpayment interest rates and overpayment interest rates will be as follows:

four (4) percent for overpayments (three (3) percent in the case of a corporation);
four (4) percent for overpayments (three (3) percent in the case of a corporation);
four (4) percent for underpayments; six (6) percent for large corporate underpayments; and one and one-half (1.5) percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000.

The Internal Revenue Code requires that the rate of interest be determined on a quarterly basis. For taxpayers other than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points. Generally, in the case of a corporation, the underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points and the overpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 2 percentage points. The rate for large corporate underpayments is the federal short-term rate plus 5 percentage points. The rate on the portion of a corporate overpayment of tax exceeding $10,000 for a taxable period is the federal short-term rate plus one-half (0.5) of a percentage point.

The rate on the portion of a corporate overpayment of tax exceeding $10,000 for a taxable period is the federal short-term rate plus one-half (0.5) of a percentage point.

The First Quarter 2018 IRS underpayment interest rates and overpayment interest rates were computed based on the federal short-term rate determined during October of 2017 to take effect on November 1, 2017, based on daily compounding.

There are two principal applications for the First Quarter 2018 IRS underpayment interest rates in the context of US international tax law. First, the First Quarter 2018 IRS underpayment interest rates are used to calculate interest on the additional tax liability that has arisen as a result of filing amended federal tax returns.  This is also true with respect to tax returns that are amended as part of the OVDP or the Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures voluntary disclosure package.

Second, the First Quarter 2018 IRS underpayment interest rates are relevant to calculation of a PFIC (Passive Foreign Investment Company) interest on PFIC tax imposed on “excess distribution” under the default IRC Section 1291 PFIC calculation method.

IRS Written Advice Abatement Procedures | IRS Tax Lawyer

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This is the concluding article in our series of articles on the topic of the IRS Written Advice Defense. In prior articles, we have outlined the general legal test of the IRS Written Advice Defense and described each of the three prongs of this test. In this article, I would like to discuss the IRS Written Advice Abatement Procedures – i.e. the actual administrative process for requesting abatement of penalties based on this defense.

This article is for educational purposes only and I strongly encourage you to retain the services of an experienced tax attorney before engaging in the IRS Written Advice Abatement Procedures.

IRS Written Advice Abatement Procedures: Form 843

The centerpiece of the IRS Written Advice Abatement Procedures is Form 843. Taxpayers who are entitled to an abatement of penalties pursuant to 26 U.S.C. §6404(f) should complete and file Form 843. At the top of Form 843, taxpayers should write: “Abatement of penalty or addition to tax pursuant to section 6404(f).” Furthermore, taxpayers should state on Form 843 whether the penalty or addition to tax has been paid.

IRS Written Advice Abatement Procedures: Documents to Be Submitted with Form 843

The taxpayers must submit copies of the following documents together with their Form 843 (note that these documents are directly related to the three-prong legal test for the IRS Written Advice Defense):

1. A copy of the taxpayer’s written request for the IRS advice (with a statement of adequate and accurate facts);

2. A copy of the erroneous written advice provided by the IRS to the taxpayer and relied upon by the taxpayer; and

3. A copy of a report (if any) of tax adjustments (the report should identify the penalty or addition to tax and the item for which the erroneous IRS written advice was requested).

In addition to these required documents, I recommend that most of Form 843 abatement requests be accompanied by a detailed description of facts, the erroneous IRS written advice, the taxpayer’s reliance on this advice and how this reliance led to the imposition of a penalty.

IRS Written Advice Abatement Procedures: Time Limitations for Filing Form 843

The IRS regulations also address the issue when Form 843 should be submitted in order to be considered a timely request for abatement. The regulations specified that any abatement of a penalty or addition to tax pursuant to 26 U.S.C. §6404(f) will be permitted only if the request for such an abatement “is submitted within the period allowed for collection of such penalty or addition to tax, or, if the penalty or addition to tax has been paid, the period allowed for claiming a credit or refund of such penalty or addition to tax.” Treas. Reg. §301.6404-3(e).

IRS Written Advice Abatement Procedures: Where to File Form 843

The mailing address of Form 843 depends on whether the incorrect IRS advice is related to an item on a federal tax return. If the advice is related to an item on the taxpayer’s tax return, then Form 843 should be submitted to the IRS center where the tax return was originally filed. On the other hand, if the erroneous IRS advice is not concerning any item of the taxpayer’s federal tax return, then the taxpayer should submit Form 843 to the IRS Center where the taxpayer’s return was filed for the taxable year in which the taxpayer relied on the erroneous advice.

Contact Sherayzen Law Office for Professional Help With Respect to Abatement or Reduction of IRS Penalties

If the IRS imposed a penalty with respect to your prior noncompliance with US international tax returns, such as FBAR, Forms 926, 3520, 5471, 5472, 8621, 8865, 8938, et cetera, contact Sherayzen Law Office to explore your IRS penalty reduction options. Sherayzen Law Office is an international tax law firm that has helped US taxpayers around the world to deal with these penalties. We can help You!

Contact Us Today to Schedule Your Confidential Consultation!

IRS AI Software to Analyze Tax Data | IRS Tax Lawyer Minneapolis

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On November 18, 2016, Mr. Benjamin Herndon, the current IRS director for research and analytics, confirmed the recent rumors that the IRS AI Software is being tested to help IRS agents find patterns of tax noncompliance.

The idea is to supplement human analysis of data with the IRS AI software that would analyze any piece of data not only by itself, but also in conjunction with the other data available to the IRS. This way, the IRS AI Software is expected to analyze a very large amount of various data to identify tax noncompliance patterns.

This means that the IRS currently plans to use artificial intelligence for pattern recognition and visualization of data that would help IRS revenue agents uncover tax noncompliance. It is possible that the IRS AI software will even analyze a particular taxpayer’s characteristics in the context of a taxpayer’s behavior to uncover any discrepancies and potential tax noncompliance.

I believe that this is just the first step that the conservative agency is making. In the near future, one can foresee that the IRS AI software will start taking on more and more tasks such as conducting correspondence audits, certain automatized communications with taxpayers, analysis of data during a field audit (the IRS AI Software can be used most effectively during the audits of large corporations which have huge amounts of data), IRS customer support, international tax compliance (particularly analysis of data collected through FATCA and FBARs) and other vital IRS functions. Most likely, the decisions associated with penalty imposition and the negotiation of offer in compromise will rest with human IRS agents for now.

Finally, the biggest immediate impact of the IRS AI software is likely to be felt in the ability of the IRS to more effectively implement US tax laws and conduct more audits due to the fact that the IRS revenue agents will now be able to devote less time to audit analysis and more time to enforcement of tax laws.

In sum, the US taxpayers should be ready for the impending improved ability of the IRS to identify tax noncompliance and conduct more audits due to increased efficiency which will be introduced by the IRS AI Software.

Tax Year 2014: Various Tax Benefits Increase Due to Inflation Adjustments

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The Internal Revenue Service recently announced an annual inflation adjustments for the tax year 2014 for more than 40 tax provisions, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes. Revenue Procedure 2013-35 provides details about these annual adjustments.

The tax items for tax year 2014 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include the following dollar amounts.

The tax rate of 39.6 percent affects singles whose income exceeds $406,750 ($457,600 for married taxpayers filing a joint return), up from $400,000 and $450,000, respectively. The other marginal rates – 10, 15, 25, 28, 33 and 35 percent – and the related income tax thresholds are described in the revenue procedure.

The standard deduction rises to $6,200 for singles and married persons filing separate returns and $12,400 for married couples filing jointly, up from $6,100 and $12,200, respectively, for tax year 2013. The standard deduction for heads of household rises to $9,100, up from $8,950.

The limitation for itemized deductions claimed on tax year 2014 returns of individuals begins with incomes of $254,200 or more ($305,050 for married couples filing jointly).

The personal exemption rises to $3,950, up from the 2013 exemption of $3,900. However, the exemption is subject to a phase-out that begins with adjusted gross incomes of $254,200 ($305,050 for married couples filing jointly). It phases out completely at $376,700 ($427,550 for married couples filing jointly.)

The Alternative Minimum Tax exemption amount for tax year 2014 is $52,800 ($82,100, for married couples filing jointly). The 2013 exemption amount was $51,900 ($80,800 for married couples filing jointly).

The maximum Earned Income Credit amount is $6,143 for taxpayers filing jointly who have 3 or more qualifying children, up from a total of $6,044 for tax year 2013. The revenue procedure has a table providing maximum credit amounts for other categories, income thresholds and phaseouts.

Estates of decedents who die during 2014 have a basic exclusion amount of $5,340,000, up from a total of $5,250,000 for estates of decedents who died in 2013.

The annual exclusion for gifts remains at $14,000 for 2014.

The annual dollar limit on employee contributions to employer-sponsored healthcare flexible spending arrangements (FSA) remains unchanged at $2,500.

The foreign earned income exclusion rises to $99,200 for tax year 2014, up from $97,600, for 2013.
The small employer health insurance credit provides that the maximum credit is phased out based on the employer’s number of full-time equivalent employees in excess of 10 and the employer’s average annual wages in excess of $25,400 for tax year 2014, up from $25,000 for 2013.

Details on these inflation adjustments and others not listed in this release can be found in Revenue Procedure 2013-35, which will be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2013-47 on Nov. 18, 2013.